Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Exane BNP Paribas began coverage on Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered Casey’s General Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Casey’s General Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $624.09.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Performance

Shares of CASY stock opened at $625.86 on Friday. Casey’s General Stores has a 12 month low of $372.08 and a 12 month high of $647.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $581.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $549.69. The stock has a market cap of $23.20 billion, a PE ratio of 38.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.68.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $5.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.92 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $4.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.51 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Casey’s General Stores will post 13.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, February 1st will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is presently 14.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casey’s General Stores

In other news, Director Moats Maria Castanon bought 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $554.66 per share, for a total transaction of $166,398.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 803 shares in the company, valued at $445,391.98. This represents a 59.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CASY. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 890,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $503,635,000 after buying an additional 502,104 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Casey’s General Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $210,151,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 35.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 791,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,403,000 after purchasing an additional 206,777 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Casey’s General Stores by 71.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 483,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,923,000 after purchasing an additional 202,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its position in Casey’s General Stores by 15,024.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 193,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,750,000 after acquiring an additional 191,863 shares in the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Casey’s General Stores

Casey’s General Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: CASY) is a U.S.-based convenience store chain that operates retail fuel stations and food-focused convenience outlets. Founded in 1959 in Boone, Iowa, the company has grown from a single neighborhood store into a regional operator known for combining traditional convenience retailing—fuel, packaged goods and tobacco—with a larger emphasis on fresh and prepared foods.

The company’s stores typically offer gasoline and diesel alongside a range of grocery essentials, grab-and-go items and made-to-order foodservice.